Caring for kids

Caring for kids

Helping bush kids gain access to better healthcare is at the heart of the Royal Far West’s mission.

Story Deb Gibbons and Mark Muller

Kids get sick. Some have developmental problems. Some have behavioural problems. More often than not, these problems can be managed, treated and, ideally, solved. What becomes difficult for kids in the bush is access – access to specialists, to services and to ongoing treatment that helps them, their families and therefore the wider community.

For 93 years Royal Far West (RFW) has been working with New South Welsh country kids to bridge the gap between available services in the bush and the needs of families on the ground. Now the not-for-profit organisation is going national.

“It’s about extending care to all country kids,” CEO Lindsay Cane says. “The evidence clearly shows as many as 330,000 country children across Australia face complex health problems, but live in areas where healthcare workforce shortages and significant waiting lists mean they cannot get the help they need when they need it,” Lindsay says.